J-K: Absconding accused in 1991 railway station blast arrested after 35 years

JAMMU: The Railway Police (GRP) in Jammu arrested an absconding accused in the 1991 railway station blast case after a 35-year chase, as he initially went underground and then lived with a concealed identity for several decades, Jammu and Kashmir Police stated.

Altaf Hussain Sheikh, son of Nazir Ahmed Sheikh, resident of Marhama-Bijbehara, Anantnag, was booked under the now-repealed Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act.

The police stated that the accused, along with other accomplices, was allegedly involved in a case of a bomb blast on April 2, 1991, at platform number 1, Jammu railway station, killing three persons, including two from the paramilitary and injuring 18 civilians.

“During the investigation, one accused, Aman Ullah Khan, was arrested, while three other accused persons escaped and could not be arrested at that time and were declared absconders by the concerned court,” the police said.

Police said that the Railway police intensified their manhunt over the past two years, eventually finding him disguised as a successful businessman in the Bijbehara area.

In the last two years, GRP Jammu launched an intensive manhunt and identified the accused Altaf Hussain Sheikh, verified his identity by minutely going into details of his identity and residential particulars and discovered him living under a concealed identity, having established himself as a successful businessman in the Bijbehara area.

He was arrested and produced before the TADA Court on August 13 for further legal proceedings. (ANI)